Disclaimer: just because I don't own Tamora Pierce's characters doesn't
mean I can't use them in my own story. Don't own, don't sue. I DO own this
storyline and Simone, but other than some lint in my back pockets, that's
about it. Wait.I have five bucks!!! Woo hoo! I'm rich!
I am so incredibly sorry I haven't updated in.*checks calendar*.oh good god, it's been almost a year. Hey, well now that school's out for the summer, hopefully I can update more often. ((I survived finals! I survived finals!)) I'm hoping to at least add a new chapter next week, but I really don't know how that's going to go.
Once again, I profusely apologize for not having updated in so long. I'm amazed that I have so many loyal readers asking me to update. It's more than I ever really hoped for. Well, here's the next chapter. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
During the series of attacks made by the enemy, Alanna was kept busy with the healers tending to wounded and dying men. To keep her hair from bothering her-long hair isn't fun to deal with when your hands are bloody and it's hanging in your face-she cut it short like her brother's. Now it only came to the tops of her shoulders and didn't take as long to wash, but was still just long enough to tie back out of her face in a hurry.
No one protested to it, like Simone would have back at the palace-she loved Alanna's long flaming locks-and even when she started wearing shirts and breeches all the time, no one in the camp did anything to stop her. They just accepted it because she came up with good excuses to back up her unladylike actions.and anyone who said anything about it got an immediate tongue-lashing. For her hair-easier to manage and it wouldn't get in her way when she was healing people. The truth of the matter was that she was just more comfortable in men's clothes, but it was much more practical in the given scenario. It was just easier to wear breeches because they were easier to wash and mend than dresses or skirts were, and it wouldn't take her long to dress when she was called to the healers' tent in an emergency. They bought it.
The only problem she encountered was when she was accidentally mistaken for Thom, and Thom for her. When they stood together with backs facing the seer, they looked almost identical. Their hair was the same length, both wore plain shirts, breeches, and tunics, and both were slim. The only obvious difference was that Alanna still looked girlish, but from behind it all looked the same to most people. The only ones who could really tell them apart from behind were their close friends. And even then, Alex had a little trouble with it. So Alanna fixed that little problem by using purple thread on the hems of her clothes. The purple stood out and even when the twins' backs were turned, and Alanna could be picked out.
One evening as the sun was setting, Alanna and Thom were walking down to the river's edge with Faithful, talking. Alanna needed to get water for laundry the next morning, and Thom had decided to keep her company. The three of them were walking through the trees when Faithful hissed and darted into the brush. Alanna followed suit, recognizing her pet's warning when she saw it, dragging Thom down with her. Faithful was mewing nervously, and Alanna only caught a few words of what he was saying.
She turned to a very curious Thom, pressing her finger to her lips- signaling him to be quiet, then she whispered, "hush, don't move. There's something near the river that Faithful doesn't like. I think.no-wait," Faithful darted away and came back, hissing again, "Faithful says there's Tusaine men crossing the river in boats. They must be trying a sneak attack. Thom, we have to warn the camp! They'll be preparing for bed soon, and the sentries won't be able to see them until it's too late in this fog."
"You must be joking, Faithful-your cat-told you this? Don't tell me he talks, because I know for a fact that cats don't talk.ok, shutting up." She was giving him a very pissed off look and he knew better than to argue with her when she was dead serious, "Ok, then. Let's go."
"Wait!" whispered Alanna harshly, "I'm going to find out how many there are! You alert the sentries. I'll be right behind you. Go already!" Thom was shaking his head and was about to protest, but she had already gone. He growled under his breath and ran to the nearest sentry's post as fast as his legs would get him there. From that one, he went to the next, and the next, warning them to be ready for an attack. The alarm sounded, calling Tortall's men to arm themselves.
Faithful stopped suddenly and Alanna almost tripped over him. Muttering under her breath, she crouched down beside him and peeked through the leaves of the bush they were hiding behind. There was a small boat full of men unloading its passengers on the bank of the river. Faithful shot out of the brush, hissing evilly at the intruders. One man, unnerved by the cat, brought his bow up and cursed loudly. Alanna gasped. He's going to shoot Faithful! He was about to shoot when Faithful darted away and another man grabbed the arrow.
"Shut up, man! Do ya want the whole damn camp to know we're 'ere? Be quiet! We 'ave to wait until everyone else unloads before we attack, you get me? Don't waste yer arrows on stupid animals." Hissed the man who seemed to be in charge. "We still 'ave some time left. Our men'll cut off this group from the main camp and then you can waste all the arrows you want." Alanna growled. She recognized this man as one of the men from camp. He was known as Jem Tanner. Traitor! Her mind screamed.
He was soo close.she could almost reach out and touch the bastard. She started reaching for a dagger that wasn't there when Faithful bit her arm and stopped her. she knew it was time to go. Giving up any thoughts about killing Jem right then and there, (rather reluctantly I might add) she silently followed the cat into the shadows.
Once out of the enemy's earshot, Alanna broke into a dead run. When she reached camp, tired and sweaty, she ran straight to Jon's tent and told him what happened.
".they're going to split our two camps down the middle and attack. We need to-" she was leaning on his desk for support as she spoke, pausing frequently to gasp for breath. The she told him the numbers she was expecting. He nodded seriously, and picked up a spelled hand mirror lying on top of his desk.
"Relax, Thom's already given us the warning-we're preparing to go right now. I have to send to father, though, and Roger. They need to know what the enemy is planning."
He spoke into the mirror quickly, and Alanna thought she recognized the king's voice coming from the mirror, but she was so exhausted she couldn't tell. A speech spell, she thought, probably vision-spelled too. There's no way Roald would want to be out of contact with his son-especially because it's his first war.
Finally Jon put the mirror down and Thom came in to help him put his armor on. Jon looked up worriedly at Alanna, "You should rest; you're exhausted."
"I'll be fine. Do you two need any help?"
"No, we've got things under control. Just take a break." Replied Thom. Then he added confidently, "We'll wrap this up in no time."
"Ok" Alanna left Jon's tent and walked slowly back to her own. She fell into her cot and stared at the ceiling, willing her energy to come back, but instead finding herself nodding off. How can I be tired at a time like this??? She wondered. Faithful curled up by the door and kept look out, just in case.
When Alanna woke up, Faithful was nowhere to be seen. She got up and peeked out the flap of the tent. One of Baird's assistants was heading towards her tent, so she went out to meet him. The injured were being brought back to camp and all healers were needed right away. Alanna sighed and followed the assistant. There are always people that need to be tended to, she thought, but at least it keeps me busy.
In the healer's tent, Alanna accepted her healer's bag and went to work on the first patient she came to. For the remainder of the night she bandaged, stitched, and used her Gift to heal the wounded soldiers. The sky was lightening by the time she came to the last cot and she was tired. When she looked at the face in the last bed, she gasped.
"Thom????"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ =^_^= ohh hoo hoo! Why is Thom in there??? Is he gonna make it??? I'm sorry this was so short, but I need to start building my plot sequence. As far as I can tell, this story is going nowhere at the moment. Time to add some twists. Well, until next chapter,
Ciao!
~Linz~
I am so incredibly sorry I haven't updated in.*checks calendar*.oh good god, it's been almost a year. Hey, well now that school's out for the summer, hopefully I can update more often. ((I survived finals! I survived finals!)) I'm hoping to at least add a new chapter next week, but I really don't know how that's going to go.
Once again, I profusely apologize for not having updated in so long. I'm amazed that I have so many loyal readers asking me to update. It's more than I ever really hoped for. Well, here's the next chapter. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
During the series of attacks made by the enemy, Alanna was kept busy with the healers tending to wounded and dying men. To keep her hair from bothering her-long hair isn't fun to deal with when your hands are bloody and it's hanging in your face-she cut it short like her brother's. Now it only came to the tops of her shoulders and didn't take as long to wash, but was still just long enough to tie back out of her face in a hurry.
No one protested to it, like Simone would have back at the palace-she loved Alanna's long flaming locks-and even when she started wearing shirts and breeches all the time, no one in the camp did anything to stop her. They just accepted it because she came up with good excuses to back up her unladylike actions.and anyone who said anything about it got an immediate tongue-lashing. For her hair-easier to manage and it wouldn't get in her way when she was healing people. The truth of the matter was that she was just more comfortable in men's clothes, but it was much more practical in the given scenario. It was just easier to wear breeches because they were easier to wash and mend than dresses or skirts were, and it wouldn't take her long to dress when she was called to the healers' tent in an emergency. They bought it.
The only problem she encountered was when she was accidentally mistaken for Thom, and Thom for her. When they stood together with backs facing the seer, they looked almost identical. Their hair was the same length, both wore plain shirts, breeches, and tunics, and both were slim. The only obvious difference was that Alanna still looked girlish, but from behind it all looked the same to most people. The only ones who could really tell them apart from behind were their close friends. And even then, Alex had a little trouble with it. So Alanna fixed that little problem by using purple thread on the hems of her clothes. The purple stood out and even when the twins' backs were turned, and Alanna could be picked out.
One evening as the sun was setting, Alanna and Thom were walking down to the river's edge with Faithful, talking. Alanna needed to get water for laundry the next morning, and Thom had decided to keep her company. The three of them were walking through the trees when Faithful hissed and darted into the brush. Alanna followed suit, recognizing her pet's warning when she saw it, dragging Thom down with her. Faithful was mewing nervously, and Alanna only caught a few words of what he was saying.
She turned to a very curious Thom, pressing her finger to her lips- signaling him to be quiet, then she whispered, "hush, don't move. There's something near the river that Faithful doesn't like. I think.no-wait," Faithful darted away and came back, hissing again, "Faithful says there's Tusaine men crossing the river in boats. They must be trying a sneak attack. Thom, we have to warn the camp! They'll be preparing for bed soon, and the sentries won't be able to see them until it's too late in this fog."
"You must be joking, Faithful-your cat-told you this? Don't tell me he talks, because I know for a fact that cats don't talk.ok, shutting up." She was giving him a very pissed off look and he knew better than to argue with her when she was dead serious, "Ok, then. Let's go."
"Wait!" whispered Alanna harshly, "I'm going to find out how many there are! You alert the sentries. I'll be right behind you. Go already!" Thom was shaking his head and was about to protest, but she had already gone. He growled under his breath and ran to the nearest sentry's post as fast as his legs would get him there. From that one, he went to the next, and the next, warning them to be ready for an attack. The alarm sounded, calling Tortall's men to arm themselves.
Faithful stopped suddenly and Alanna almost tripped over him. Muttering under her breath, she crouched down beside him and peeked through the leaves of the bush they were hiding behind. There was a small boat full of men unloading its passengers on the bank of the river. Faithful shot out of the brush, hissing evilly at the intruders. One man, unnerved by the cat, brought his bow up and cursed loudly. Alanna gasped. He's going to shoot Faithful! He was about to shoot when Faithful darted away and another man grabbed the arrow.
"Shut up, man! Do ya want the whole damn camp to know we're 'ere? Be quiet! We 'ave to wait until everyone else unloads before we attack, you get me? Don't waste yer arrows on stupid animals." Hissed the man who seemed to be in charge. "We still 'ave some time left. Our men'll cut off this group from the main camp and then you can waste all the arrows you want." Alanna growled. She recognized this man as one of the men from camp. He was known as Jem Tanner. Traitor! Her mind screamed.
He was soo close.she could almost reach out and touch the bastard. She started reaching for a dagger that wasn't there when Faithful bit her arm and stopped her. she knew it was time to go. Giving up any thoughts about killing Jem right then and there, (rather reluctantly I might add) she silently followed the cat into the shadows.
Once out of the enemy's earshot, Alanna broke into a dead run. When she reached camp, tired and sweaty, she ran straight to Jon's tent and told him what happened.
".they're going to split our two camps down the middle and attack. We need to-" she was leaning on his desk for support as she spoke, pausing frequently to gasp for breath. The she told him the numbers she was expecting. He nodded seriously, and picked up a spelled hand mirror lying on top of his desk.
"Relax, Thom's already given us the warning-we're preparing to go right now. I have to send to father, though, and Roger. They need to know what the enemy is planning."
He spoke into the mirror quickly, and Alanna thought she recognized the king's voice coming from the mirror, but she was so exhausted she couldn't tell. A speech spell, she thought, probably vision-spelled too. There's no way Roald would want to be out of contact with his son-especially because it's his first war.
Finally Jon put the mirror down and Thom came in to help him put his armor on. Jon looked up worriedly at Alanna, "You should rest; you're exhausted."
"I'll be fine. Do you two need any help?"
"No, we've got things under control. Just take a break." Replied Thom. Then he added confidently, "We'll wrap this up in no time."
"Ok" Alanna left Jon's tent and walked slowly back to her own. She fell into her cot and stared at the ceiling, willing her energy to come back, but instead finding herself nodding off. How can I be tired at a time like this??? She wondered. Faithful curled up by the door and kept look out, just in case.
When Alanna woke up, Faithful was nowhere to be seen. She got up and peeked out the flap of the tent. One of Baird's assistants was heading towards her tent, so she went out to meet him. The injured were being brought back to camp and all healers were needed right away. Alanna sighed and followed the assistant. There are always people that need to be tended to, she thought, but at least it keeps me busy.
In the healer's tent, Alanna accepted her healer's bag and went to work on the first patient she came to. For the remainder of the night she bandaged, stitched, and used her Gift to heal the wounded soldiers. The sky was lightening by the time she came to the last cot and she was tired. When she looked at the face in the last bed, she gasped.
"Thom????"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ =^_^= ohh hoo hoo! Why is Thom in there??? Is he gonna make it??? I'm sorry this was so short, but I need to start building my plot sequence. As far as I can tell, this story is going nowhere at the moment. Time to add some twists. Well, until next chapter,
Ciao!
~Linz~